A Broken Thread
The wind still howled across the frozen northern plains. Biting snowflakes lashed the faces of Kaelios, Lioran, and Aërya, as they advanced slowly toward the silhouette of a fortress perched atop a hill. The air was heavy with an oppressive, almost suffocating weight.
Kaelios walked at the front, his steel eyes scanning the horizon. Aërya followed closely, her aura of light creating a faint bubble of warmth against the biting cold. Lioran brought up the rear, his hand resting on the hilt of his sylvan blade. All of them knew what awaited them: the presence of an ancient and monstrous power that watched them from within those blackened walls.
Suddenly, the ground rumbled. An entire army deployed from the shadows of the bastion: hundreds of demonic soldiers, led by a horned behemoth whose very aura made the earth tremble. The commander, a servant of the demon-god Vael'Tor, stood like a mountain, a ravenous smile on his lips.
* "They were waiting for us..." Kaelios whispered, his voice heavy.
* "Then let's dance one last time," Lioran replied, gripping the handle of his weapon.
And without another word, the battle began.
The Price of the Oath
The enemy waves crashed upon them like a tide. Aërya raised her slender arms, and a blinding light burst from her palms, piercing the enemy ranks like crystal arrows. Her rays of light were not just brilliant; they burned, pierced, and annihilated.
Lioran, for his part, became a storm of roots and steel. His Eternal Spiritual Blade danced with a deadly grace, its sylvan blades cleaving flesh and armor, while the March of a Thousand Roots exploded beneath the enemies' feet, trapping them in vegetal prisons. His voice resonated through the din:
* "For the World-Tree, for our dream!"
Kaelios, master of the elements, summoned fire and ice in a fluid chain. Waves of flames burned the demons by the dozens, only to be instantly frozen into ice statues that shattered into sharp shards. The earth trembled at his command, rocks breaking to crush the enemy ranks.
But the enemy was innumerable. For every demon that fell, two more took its place. The fight became a desperate struggle, where the three companions covered each other, battling an endless tide.
Then everything changed.
The commander raised his monstrous arm and a lance of black earth, charged with Vael'Tor's energy, shot straight toward Kaelios. It was too fast for him to avoid.
* "Kaelios!" Aërya cried, panicked.
But it was Lioran who intervened. His body cut through the air, his Sylvan Blade partially repelling the projectile. But the spear pierced his flank. Blood gushed out, splattering the snow.
* "No... NO!" Kaelios screamed, catching his friend in his arms.
Lioran, pale, managed a smile.
* "Don't cry... Brother... You must fulfill what we always dreamed of. Protect this world... and... give it a chance..."
* "Don't talk like it's over! I'll find a way, I swear to you!" Kaelios cried, tears streaming down his cheeks.
Aërya, distraught, placed a trembling hand on Kaelios's shoulder. Her voice, soft and solemn, echoed Aëni:
* "Perhaps... there is a way. Assimilate his body... awaken his skills... But it comes at a price. You will become stronger, Kaelios. Stronger than ever."
Kaelios's heart was torn. In his hands, Lioran was dying, but his peaceful smile remained fixed.
* "Fulfill... my dream... Kaelios..."
And with one last breath, Lioran expired.
Kaelios howled.
The Wrath of the Absolute God
At that moment, an immeasurable light burst from his body. The flames of his sorrow, the ice of his hatred, the earth of his will, and the wind of his despair fused. His mana imploded, and Aëni's voice resonated in his mind:
> [Assimilation in progress... Fusion of souls... Lioran's legacy integrated.]
> [New skills obtained: Primordial Spiritual Blade, Sylvan Rebirth, Eco-Energy Grasp, Perfect Legacy.]
> [Sub-skill activated: Arcanis Nova.]
>
Skills unlocked by Kaelios after assimilating Lioran
* Primordial Spiritual Blade
Type: Active / primary offensive (manifested weapon)
Rank: Rare (fused legacy)
Cost: High mana per use (variable consumption based on number of blades and distance)
Range: Melee → extended range as immaterial projectiles (up to several tens of meters depending on mastery)
Main Effect: Creates immaterial blades of sylvan essence combined with stellar spiritual energy. These blades not only cleave flesh but also cut through magical structures (barriers, seals, anchors) - with increased efficiency against corrupted entities and ritual constructs.
Secondary Effect: The blades leave an "Echo of the Sylvan" relic on hit targets: passive reduction of their regeneration/mana for X seconds.
Synergies: Combines with Sylvan Rebirth to convert damage into area healing; can be multiplied by Eye of the Sylvan/Eye of Truth to target precise weak points.
Limitations: Prolonged use requires natural mana recovery/absorption (or a supply via Eco-Energy Grasp). Divine or Primordial targets resist strongly without support effects.
Visual/Flavor: Green-silver blades encrusted with starlight, a faint song like rustling sap.
* Sylvan Rebirth
Type: Active / massive support & terrain transformation
Rank: Rare (nature domain amplified by Lioran's memory)
Cost: Very high mana (continuous maintenance for persistent effects)
Range: Extended area (arc / wide radius around Kaelios)
Main Effect: Resets and reshapes the surrounding vegetation into a living network: walls, ramparts, vegetal behemoths, healing zones. Simultaneously releases a wave of regeneration (mana healing → life) for Kaelios and allies in the area.
Secondary Effect: Activates living mana "nodes" in the ground that provide a local energy source (reduces the cost of Kaelios's skills as long as the area holds).
Synergies: With Perfect Legacy, allows anchoring durable versions of the nodes for the construction of arcanotech infrastructures (bases, magical roads). With Primordial Spiritual Blade, strikes transform enemies into magical compost reinjected into the nodes.
Limitations: In sterile areas (desert, lifeless plane), efficiency is reduced; requires the presence of at least one seed/fragment of the World-Tree for full power.
Visual/Flavor: The ground pulses, giant shoots sprout, the area exhales a golden-green light.
* Eco-Energy Grasp
Type: Passive active / domain & energy extraction
Rank: Special → serves as magical infrastructure (key for Arcanotech)
Cost: Moderate initial activation; maintenance depends on scale
Range: Local → can be extended via relays (Bloodlines)
Main Effect: Converts vital energy and telluric flows (natural mana, ley lines, living roots) into an exploitable arcane reserve. This reserve can power Kaelios's skills, fuel magi-tech constructions, and stabilize artifacts.
Key Functions:
Passive Recovery: Captures ambient mana and stores it.
Transcoding: Transforms mana into energy forms compatible with equipment (arcane current, activation fields, temporal storage).
Network: Allows connecting multiple points to create a power grid (useful for cities/kingdoms).
Synergies: Essential for Kaelios to intensively use Primordial Spiritual Blade and Sylvan Rebirth without exhaustion; also provides energy to the population and magi-tech machines.
Limitations: Exploitable as long as nature and mana lines exist; vulnerable to attacks targeting the nodes. Immoral use (excessive pumping) can harm the ecosystem if misused.
Visual/Flavor: Networks of luminous fibers stretch beneath the surface, pulsing like the heart of a tree.
* Perfect Legacy
Type: Passive / Integration & mastery system
Rank: Special (core of the fusion)
Cost: Light continuous passive mana; activation for heavy actions
Main Effect: An internal mechanism that harmonizes and optimizes the copying/integration of assimilated skills (like Lioran's). Drastically reduces the training time to master inherited techniques, stabilizes synergies between skills, and prevents essence conflicts (incompatibilities).
Secondary Effect: Grants Kaelios an evolving "template": any assimilated skill is indexed as modules (easy to fuse, split, or configure).
Synergies: A cornerstone for creating hybrid combinations (e.g., Primordial Spiritual Blade + Eco-Energy Grasp → blades that recharge locally). Also facilitates targeted skill sharing (limited) with allies/researchers (see Aëni).
Limitations: Does not instantly grant perfect mastery of a skill; it accelerates the learning curve but requires practice/experience to equal the original. May show minor conflicts if the assimilated essence is of divine or Primordial origin.
Visual/Flavor: A filigree rune pattern on the Codex, pulsing with each fused action.
Kaelios stood up, his body bathed in a divine glow. His silver hair floated as if carried by an invisible breeze, his eyes blazed with gold and jade. His silhouette had taken on the features of an otherworldly elf, both gentle and terrifying.
Aërya, spellbound, raised a hand to her mouth. How can such beauty exist? she thought, her heart pounding.
The demons stopped, paralyzed by the overwhelming aura that was spreading. Many collapsed, unable to breathe under the divine pressure.
With a gesture, Kaelios raised his hand. The sky opened.
A colossal magic circle appeared, covering the entire battlefield.
* "Alpha... Omega."
Silence fell. Then the light. Silent, cold, inexorable. The entire army was reduced to ashes in an invisible breath. Only the commander remained, gasping, but still standing.
* "Insolent..." the behemoth growled.
A titanic duel began. The commander wielded his demonic axe with crushing brutality, his blows tearing at the earth. But Kaelios, carried by his awakening, danced between the strikes, his body illuminated by the Perfect Legacy.
He summoned the Primordial Spiritual Blade, a transcendent weapon of pure energy, and parried his opponent's titanic blows. When Aërya, exhausted, stumbled behind him, he activated Sylvan Rebirth, healing her instantly in a green glow.
* "Hold on, Aërya," he said softly, before turning to the demon.
Elemental magic exploded. Pillars of flames rose, lightning flashed from the sky, blades of wind sliced through the air. The fight made the entire plain tremble. Finally, concentrating his power in an ultimate strike, Kaelios howled:
* "Return to ashes!"
His blade passed through the commander's body. The demon let out a high-pitched scream, then dissipated in a shower of flames and darkness.
Silence fell once more.
Kaelios, panting, gently descended to the ground. His feet touched the melted snow. Aërya, still in shock, looked up at him. When he extended his hand to her, she felt her cheeks flush. Her heart was beating like never before.
* "Are you okay?" he asked with unexpected tenderness.
She looked away, blushing.
* "It's... it's nothing," she murmured, unable to admit what she was feeling.
Yet, deep inside, she knew. Something had changed. Between the two of them, an invisible thread had just been drawn.
And in the northern sky, the snow continued to fall.
End of Chapter 5